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Our project is a 14 story residential building located in MD. Of the building is 152,740 sf with 150,340 sf of residential and 2,400 sf of ground floor retail. The main building occupants will be the...

Inquiry

Our project is a 14 story residential building located in MD. Of the building is 152,740 sf with 150,340 sf of residential and 2,400 sf of ground floor retail. The main building occupants will be the 343 residents. The retail space, which for this project's purposes is core and shell space, will be occupied by an estimated 5 retail employees, and 19 retail transients.

Our question is in regard to the shower requirement of SSc4.2. Given that the retail space comprises only 1.5% of the total floor area of the project, and will be served by only 5 employees, we propose that the project not be required to provide showers and changing facilities for the retail employees. The project will provide bike racks for the residents (343 residents x 15% = 52 bikes), as well as retail employees and retail transients (24 retail employees/transients x 5% = 2 bikes).

To support this proposal, we draw on a previous CIR Ruling dated 4/4/2005 which stated that, "If the mixed-use building is less than 10% commercial square feet, the entire building can be considered residential and adhere to the residential requirements."

Ruling

The Project Team is inquiring whether the shower and changing facility requirements of SSc4.2 can be exempt for the retail area of a mixed use building where the retail area comprises approximately 1.6% of the total building area. For guidance on this issue, the project should refer to LI 10209 which describes how mixed-use projects with a nonresidential square footage of less than 10% and no greater than 5,000 square feet can document credit compliance. Regarding the use of Retail Supplement compliance paths, since rating systems are comprehensive, substituting the Retail Supplement's credit requirements for parts of a building project is granted on a case-by-case basis. Given the allowance provided by LI XXXX, it would not be an appropriate to allow additional approaches to documenting credit achievement.

We use Case 2 for compliance. According to our calculation for this credit, we think that we need to provide 13 showers. Question 1: How are the showers required to be split between male and female, i...

Inquiry

We use Case 2 for compliance. According to our calculation for this credit, we think that we need to provide 13 showers. Question 1: How are the showers required to be split between male and female, if not unisex? We split 50:50. Question 2: The building has 617,149 sqft. This number includes all floors, including two roof floors with technical rooms and the lower levels including one floor with only technical spaces. To determine default occupancy count, we divided the building's gross square feet by 250 (general office). Do we need to apply this rate to the whole building or can we first subtract the square footage of main technical rooms and/or of complete technical floors (64,600 sqft)? Question 3: Our building is a mixed use building with one multipurpose room and foyer on a lower level, and a small caf

Ruling

The project is seeking clarification for how to determine the anticipated occupancy of their project for the purposes of Sustainable Sites credit 4.2.The CS Appendix 1 Default Occupancy Counts is required to be used for the project types listed for any CS project that does not know actually occupancy numbers. The numbers are based on average gross square foot per occupant of buildings of that type and include support spaces such as lobbies, mechanical room, storage and other non-rentable spaces. Large, unoccupied areas that are not typical of most projects, such as below grade parking garages, may be excluded from the gross square footage for the purpose of the occupancy calculations. However, projects which exclude any portion of the gross square footage must provide a supplemental narrative stating the portion of the project and providing an explanation on why this area is not typical for most projects of that type, and why the area should be excluded from the calculation. For mixed use projects, the project should first determine the percentage of the building that is each use. Then the gross building area should be divided up based on those percentages, this will allocate common areas, such as foyers and mechanical spaces, proportionally between the different uses. The project should note that the Appendix 3 LEED-CS Project Scope Checklist, which is required to be submitted for certification and precertification, can assist with this calculation. For building types that are not covered under the Appendix 1 defaults, the project must determine the typical gross square foot per occupant for the building type to use. For example, this can be done through case study of similar type projects, discussions with tenants, or research of publish industry standards. It may also be noted, that the LEED 2009 Reference Guide for Green Building Design and Construction Appendix has an expanded table with additionally occupancies. This table is not required to be used by LEED-CS 2.0 projects, however may be used in lieu of project determined defaults if the project chooses. For restaurants, the default is for FTE is 435 gross square foot per occupant and 95 gross square foot per occupant for transient visitors. There is a known template error for this credit. The calculations provided have been done correctly, and the project should attach the supplemental calculations as shown above for certification. For projects that have an odd number of minimum required showers that wish to divide them between genders, such as the 13 total or 6.5 per gender for this project, the project can either provide an additional shower, 14 total or 7 per gender, therefore meeting the minimum requirement for each gender or can provide a unisex shower that would be usable by either gender. Applicable Internationally.

We are requesting a ruling on an alternative approach to calculating required bicycle storage for SS Credit 4.2 for a professional hockey arena. Occupancy for the facility is expected to be as follows...

Inquiry

We are requesting a ruling on an alternative approach to calculating required bicycle storage for SS Credit 4.2 for a professional hockey arena. Occupancy for the facility is expected to be as follows: FTE: 115 Peak event staff: 700 Peak spectators: 18,500 Peak players: 25 Total: 19,340 Bicycle storage to serve all guests and staff who are likely to be at the arena during a sold-out game, would amount to 967 storage spaces if the credit requirements were followed as written. However, for reasons similar to those presented in the Credit Interpretation Requests dated 9/12/2007 and 10/5/2007 the project team feels that it is impractical to impose the same bicycle storage rules for this facility as for office buildings, namely: - Transient occupants tend to attend sporting and entertainment events in groups rather than as individuals. - This project has ample public transportation within 1/4 mile of the site. - The largest events occur in the evenings in the winter, times during which cycling is not ideal for safety and comfort reasons. - Similar facilities, such as the SF Giants described in the 9/12/2007 CIR, have demonstrated that current demand for bicycle storage is significantly lower than what SS Credit 4.2 requires. - The land required to provide permanent bicycle storage that has little likelihood of being used is not an ideal usage of the site. The project team proposes two ways of providing bicycle storage quantity that will adequately serve the realistically expected current demand for this facility while allowing for capacity growth based on peak demand. 1. To establish the current demand for transient occupant bicycle storage, statistics from a local non-profit cyclist organization whose mission is "to establish [a] city that is increasingly safe, accessible, and friendly to bicycle transportation" will be used. This organization states that the current rate of commuting by cyclists to the arena neighborhood is 0.8%. Applying this statistic to the peak occupancy stated above, 154 bicycle storage spaces would be needed for events. To accommodate 125% of this estimated demand, a total of 194 bicycle storage spaces would be provided using permanent and/or valet bicycle storage. Over time, peak demand will be monitored such that bicycle storage provided always exceeds demand by 25% until the maximum bike storage capacity of 5% of peak building users (or 967) is met. OR 2. To establish the current demand for bicycle, the team management will survey staff and season ticket holders to determine: a. The number (and percentage) that currently travels to events via bicycle b. The number (and percentage) who would consider traveling to events via bicycle if secure storage were provided at the arena Based on the survey results, enough permanent and/or valet bicycle storage will be provided to accommodate 125% of current demand. Each season, peak demand will be monitored such that bicycle storage provided always exceeds demand by 25% until the maximum bike storage capacity of 5% of peak building users (or 967) is met. For both approaches above, shower/changing facilities will be made available for 0.5% of all FTE occupants. If a valet service is used it will be implemented considering the requirements in the CIR ruling dated 10/24/2007.

Ruling

The project team is requesting guidance on two alternative approaches to calculating the number of bi-cycles to be accommodated with secure bicycle storage for a professional hockey arena. The project has proposed 2 approaches, both resulting in the provision of 125% of the current estimated bicycle parking and storage needs, with regular monitoring to ensure available bicycle parking and storage exceeds demand by 25% until the credit requirement— providing bicycle storage for 5% of the building occupants—has been met. Approach 1 is based on the based on statistics gathered from a local biking advocacy organization, whereas Approach 2 is based on a survey of staff and season ticket holders. Either strategy is acceptable, as long as documentation of the process includes detailed calculations, and a description of how the current bike capacity was determined. The project team must also show how the bicycle storage will be monitored and demonstrate the capacity for future expansion exists, should it be needed, as stated in LEED NC 2.2, SSc4.2 CIR ruling 10/24/2007. The alternate strategy outlined is acceptable for large special events facilities only, because of the particular nature of these projects.

Under LEED NCv2.2, projects must provide adequate bike racks to serve 5% or more of all commercial and retail building users at peak periods of occupancy and shower and changing facilities for 0.5% of...

Inquiry

Under LEED NCv2.2, projects must provide adequate bike racks to serve 5% or more of all commercial and retail building users at peak periods of occupancy and shower and changing facilities for 0.5% of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) occupants. The credit also requires residential projects to provide 15% of residents with covered bike storage. Our project is a mixed use hotel, residential, retail and office building in New York City. We propose to provide: - Bike racks for at least 5% of the hotel and retail employees, retail customers and office tenants - Showers and changing facilities for at least 0.5% of the hotel and retail staff and office occupant FTE - Covered bike storage for at least 15% of residents - Hotel guests with information about where they can rent a bike for daily use We request exemption of the hotel guests from the onsite bike storage requirement as we do not believe they will bring bikes and it would be cost prohibitive to provide enough bike storage to serve 0.5% of them. The USGBC has previously ruled (SSc4.2 ruling dated 06/04/03) that an international airline terminal can meet the intent of this credit by providing bike racks, showers and changing facilities for the FTE staff occupancy exclusively, provided alternative transportation opportunities are maximized for transient occupants. In addition this would be extremely cost prohibitive based on the construction and real estate in New York City. Our project is located on 42nd Street, very near Times Square in midtown Manhattan. The primary modes of transportation around this busy retail, theatre and residential area are walking and subways. The project itself includes a new subway station that will lead pedestrians to 12 subway lines. The City's major bus terminal (Port Authority) is a block away from the project. The City's two major train stations are within walking distance, but hotel guests can also catch a pedicab, bus or subway from the project to reach them. We do not believe personal bicycles are a likely means of transportation for hotel guests (especially from the airport with luggage) to our project, and guests will have every means of reaching the hotel by public transportation. Out of town guests will be able to reach the project by subway, train or bus from all the major New Jersey and New York airports.

Ruling

The project team is pursuing LEED- NCv2.2 SSc4.2 and is requesting an exemption for hotel guests from the onsite bike storage requirement. Per previous CIR ruling (NCv2.1 SSc4.2 ruling dated 09/14/06), the proposed approach to exclude hotel guests from onsite bike storage requirements is appropriate given the proximity of the project to mass transit and the explanation provided. When submitting this credit, the narrative should include the number of people that are excluded from SSc4.2 occupancy counts and why this type of visitor cannot reasonably be expected to arrive at this destination on or with a bicycle. The submittal should also state how guests with bicycles will be accommodated. See the LEED NCv2.1 SSc4.2 CIR ruling dated 5/13/2007 for information on calculating hotel occupancy. As you correctly mention, other transient occupants such as retail customers should be included in occupancy counts, along with all the FTEs (all building staff and office tenants) and building residents. Applicable Internationally.

Our project consists of the construction of a new field house on the campus of an existing private school located in a rural area. The project team believes that bicycle lanes are not required on this...

Inquiry

Our project consists of the construction of a new field house on the campus of an existing private school located in a rural area. The project team believes that bicycle lanes are not required on this project to achieve this credit for the following reasons: 1. As staff and students all live on campus, there is little motorized vehicle traffic. Walking and cycling are the primary modes of transportation. 2. Staff and students have been using their bicycles on campus for more than 75 years, and there has never been a collision between a motorized vehicle and a cyclist. 3. Students are not allowed to have cars on-site. 4. The speed limit on campus is 18 miles per hour. 5. There is existing signage warning drivers that children and dogs are playing. Additional signage will be added to indicate to drivers that cyclists have the right of way. 6. The campus is located in a rural area. There are no bicycle lanes along the public roads. The motorists and cyclists are accustomed to sharing all roads. The campus has always had a culture of cycling. In fact, there are bike racks outside each campus building and there are no existing designated bike lanes on campus. We would like to be able to continue the existing precedent of bike use with our new building.

Ruling

The project team is wondering if the requirement that the dedicated bicycle lanes be provided to the school boundary can be waived given the particular conditions of this project and campus. Although the points noted in the CIR narrative indicate that bicycling is an integrated and accepted component of the campus structure and culture, conditions are present where bicycles and motor vehicles share common roadways within the campus. In campus settings where no student vehicles are allowed onsite, this credit can be achieved by providing dedicated bike lanes that extend from the project building to at least two existing academic buildings (in two or more separate directions). The requirement for dedicated bike lanes could only be waived for this project if bicycles and motor vehicles were prohibited from sharing the same road within the LEED project boundary. Applicable Internationally.

Our building is located on a 1,275-acre university campus among 79 buildings with dozens more in the planning stages. The university has 1,065 support staff, 750 faculty (or 1,435 FTE) and 23,464 peak...

Inquiry

Our building is located on a 1,275-acre university campus among 79 buildings with dozens more in the planning stages. The university has 1,065 support staff, 750 faculty (or 1,435 FTE) and 23,464 peak-period transient students/visitors. Adequate bicycle storage can be easily provided for each building, but providing showers and changing rooms is our challenge. Based on the number of FTE's, eight showers would need to be distributed among each of the 79 buildings (see related AGMBC notes). The 200-yard distance maximum would not be possible to maintain for the eight showers required (based on 1,435 FTE's) distributed in zones among 79 buildings and therefore the number needed to comply with the requirement for each building would significantly increase by a factor of four times or more. This is not a feasible strategy for the university and also not a good use of resources. However, there are two centrally located facilities on campus with showers to which staff and faculty have unlimited access. The Indoor Recreation Facility has 12 shower heads in 4 areas and the Field House has 143 shower heads in 9 areas. These facilities are linked together with 5 free bus/shuttle lines that operate in 7 to 8 minute intervals between the hours of 7 am and 7 pm. This strategy is analogous to the compliance path for credit EAc4.1 Alternative Transportation: Public Transportation Access, which allows the use of shuttles to connect to primary bus and rail systems. Please confirm that the use of centrally located showers accessible by shuttles is an acceptable alternative to the 200-yard maximum.

Ruling

The project is requesting that showers farther than 200 yards from the building entrance be acceptable because of the free campus shuttle service available. This is not an acceptable alternative compliance path. In order to make bicycle commuting a viable and attractive option for building occupants the showers must be within 200 yards of the building entrance. Please note that the project need only provide showers for 0.5% of FTE of the project itself, not the entire campus. Applicable Internationally.

Our firm is currently working on a project designated as a port of entry from Mexico to the US. We are requesting a clarification on how occupants should be calculated in SSc4.2. CIR Ruling (9/14/2006...

Inquiry

Our firm is currently working on a project designated as a port of entry from Mexico to the US. We are requesting a clarification on how occupants should be calculated in SSc4.2. CIR Ruling (9/14/2006) established that "Excluding a certain type of transient occupant from the required bicycle stall and shower calculations is permissible per previous v2.1 CIR Rulings dated 6/4/2003 and 8/7/2002. Please include a short narrative indicating the number of visitors who have been excluded from these calculations and an explanation of why this type of visitor cannot reasonably be expected to arrive at this destination on or with a bicycle that would benefit from onsite storage facilities." These CIRs related to projects which were destination resorts and airline terminals. Our project, a US Port of Entry, has similar occupancy concerns that make it impractical to provide bicycle racks for all transient occupants. The vast majority of transients are typically crossing from Mexico into the US and are only passing through the facility. They consist of pedestrians or transients entering via automobile or motorcycles. If transients are commuting via bicycle they would typically not be spending time at the facility but merely passing through. This project anticipates achieving SSc4.1 (numerous bus lines within 1/4 mile and a rail line within 1/2 mile) and SSc4.3 and 4.4 (preferred parking for carpools and efficient vehicles). In addition to the previous credits this project will also obtain credit for SSc4.2. This project has 120 FTE and 22,720 transients. Using the above CIR Ruling, the occupant calculation would require 1,142 Bicycle Racks. However, in light of the fact that we believe the majority of the transients would simply be "passing through" this calculation seems excessive for this project. Our project team has identified the following option to address the intent of SSc4.2 and we would like to get direction from the USGBC on the following option: Provide bicycle storage for 5% FTE Showers will be provided to meet the requirement of 0.5% of FTE staff. The project team feels that this approach meets the intent of SSc4.2 for this type of facility. We respectfully request that the USGBC confirm that our approach is valid or provide clear guidance on how our assumptions should be modified to meet the intent of SSc4.2.

Ruling

Providing bicycle storage for 5% of FTE and showers for 0.5% of FTE is an appropriate approach given the project circumstances and that other transportation credits are being pursued to accommodate the FTE and transient occupants. The exclusion of occupants who are passing through only to cross the border is in line with previous CIR rulings. When submitting the credit please include a short narrative indicating the number of visitors who have been excluded from these calculations and an explanation of why this type of visitor cannot reasonably be expected to arrive at this destination on or with a bicycle that would benefit from onsite storage facilities. Applicable Internationally; Mexico.

We are requesting approval of an alternate compliance path with regards to the quantity of showers required to comply with Sustainable Sites Credit 4.2 in the LEED NCv2.2 rating system. Our project, l...

Inquiry

We are requesting approval of an alternate compliance path with regards to the quantity of showers required to comply with Sustainable Sites Credit 4.2 in the LEED NCv2.2 rating system. Our project, located in Cairo, Egypt, provides areas within the building for prayer and ablution areas adjacent to it used for ritual cleansing before prayer time. Each ablution area, one each for males and females, will have four sinks that are actually shower-like faucets on a wall above a trough for a total of eight sinks. We will send a photo example separately. There are no walls or enclosures around each of the sinks, although there are separate ablution areas for men and women. Users remain robed while using the sinks, except for socks, shoes and jackets. Users will typically roll up their sleeves and using a washcloth wash their arms, armpits, face, hair, feet and lower legs. While these ablution areas are used for religious practice, it is common and socially acceptable to use them for general washing as well. Furthermore, social norms do not dictate full daily washings that are typical of American culture, making "sponge" bathing a more common practice for personal hygiene for the majority of the population. We are proposing that each bathing fixture in each ablution area be counted as an individual shower, in our case eight in total. In order to fulfill the need of all occupants of the building, four regular showers, two for each gender, will also be provided in the building for occupants that wish to use a full shower and changing facility. Our building has an FTE of 1080, which requires 5.4 showers, or 3 for each gender. We believe that access to the 4 showers and 8 ablution sinks meets the intent of the credit while also being more appropriate for the social customs of the culture. Is this approach acceptable?

Ruling

The project is located in Egypt and is seeking confirmation on whether the use of ablution sinks can be considered towards achievement of this credit. Based on the specific local religious and social customs, the use of ablution sinks can be deemed comparable to the use of showers, and can be included in the total number of showers required for credit compliance. However, in cases like this, at a minimum, 50% of the required number of showers must be provided by full showers/changing facilities, to ensure that all occupant needs are adequately met. The project team should include justification for this alternative approach in the LEED submission, clearly demonstrating that the majority of the building occupants adhere to these religious and social customs, and the associated use of the ablution sinks. Applicable Internationally; Egypt.

This CIR is in reference to FTE calculations for a multi-floor hotel in a high-density urban setting. FTE calculation for full-time and part-time employees of the hotel can be calculated using actual...

Inquiry

This CIR is in reference to FTE calculations for a multi-floor hotel in a high-density urban setting. FTE calculation for full-time and part-time employees of the hotel can be calculated using actual numbers. Transients as defined by the USGBC are visitors to a building for less than 7 hours. However, this does not always apply to the variable number of guests or the variable amount of time guests will stay in a hotel on a daily basis. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is the sole national representing body of all sectors in the lodging industry. The AH&LA has lodging occupancy tracked on a weekly basis (research performed by Smith Travel Research). The AH&LA 2006 annual report calculates the year-end lodging occupancy at 63.4%. In a CIR request dated 10/27/2005 (ruling dated 12/9/2005), occupancy for residential projects allows for FTE calculations based on number of bedrooms: 2 regular occupants for a one-bedroom unit, 3 for a two-bedroom unit, and so on. Therefore, since occupancy rates are highly variable for hotels, can FTE be calculated based on the number of rooms x average occupancy/room (e.g. 2) in a hotel multiplied by an average lodging occupancy percent (per the AH&LA) to obtain the transient occupant calculation? For example: 200 units x 2 guests/unit = 400 total guests; 400 guests x 60% (average of the AH&LA information) = 240 calculated transient occupants. This number would then be the transient occupant count added to the calculated FTE of employees for the occupant value for LEED calculations.

Ruling

Your FTE approach seems reasonable based on the variable transient occupancy of a hotel, and you are encouraged to utilize it. Please note that previous CIRs have ruled that certain transient populations can be excluded from the calculations in determining the number of required bike storage spaces and showers for this credit. Please refer to NCv2.1 SSc4.2 CIR ruling dated 9/14/2006 for additional guidance. Applicable Internationally.

Our project is a Senior Assisted Living Facility registered under the LEED NC 2.2 rating system. In addition to the residential component it includes a restaurant, shop and dining room and will be sta...

Inquiry

Our project is a Senior Assisted Living Facility registered under the LEED NC 2.2 rating system. In addition to the residential component it includes a restaurant, shop and dining room and will be staffed 24 hours a day with a maximum of 22 staff FTE occupants per shift. We are requesting a ruling excluding the requirement to provide covered bike racks for the residential occupants, whom are unable to bike due to physical limitations and/or health problems. Due to the specific characteristics of the residential population, the project team feels that it is impractical to provide covered bike storage for 15% of the residents, as calculated for SSc4.2 Alternative Transportation, Bike Storage and Changing Rooms. Previous CIR rulings dated 6/4/2003 and 9/14/2006 set a precedence to exclude certain populations from the bicycle storage requirements based upon the practicality of that population to take advantage of the bicycle storage. LEED for Schools also addresses the issue of physical inability and/or safety by limiting the bike rack requirement to students above third grade. To meet the intent of this credit we are proposing that we satisfy the requirements to serve the employees of the project and provide bicycle storage for 5% of the FTE and showers for 0.5% of the FTE and exclude the residential population from the calculation for bicycle storage.

Ruling

The CIR is requesting that their project be exempted from the requirement for covered bicycle racks for 15% of residents. This request is based on the physical limitations of the residents at this senior assisted living facility and the assumption that they will not be riding bicycles with any regularity. The project has proposed to meet the credit by providing bicycle racks for 5% of the staff FTE, and showers for .5% of the staff FTE, with the residents entirely excluded from the calculations. Based on previous CIRs, especially the ruling dated 12/2/07 under SSc4.4, physically incapacitated residents can be excluded from credit calculations determining bicycle racks. However, in order for the credit requirements to be satisfied, the bicycle racks must be sized to accommodate 5% of both the FTE staff, and the peak transient occupancy including visitors. The proposal to size the showers for 0.5% of the FTE staff is appropriate for credit compliance. Please note that employee shower facilities must be separate from resident shower facilities. Applicable Internationally.

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